The tobacco industry is blowing cancer smoke again

More people are turning to e-cigarettes because they are marketed as a safer alternative to tobacco, but can they really live up to those claims?

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A New York Times article published on May 4, 2014 has disclosed that a research study is now questioning the safety of e-cigarettes. The industry has claimed that e-cigarettes are safer than conventional cigarettes. There is also an industry claim that nicotine has not been proven to cause cancer or heart disease.

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Saying that e-cigarettes are safer than conventional cigarettes is equivalent to saying that a 32 caliber gun is less deadly than a 357 magnum gun. The statements are true for the e-cigarette and the 32 caliber gun, but either one can kill you.

Nicotine is absolutely a poison. The argument by the e-cigarette manufacturers is that nicotine from e-cigarettes is no different than nicotine in gum, patches and other delivery systems. The difference among these nicotine delivery systems is that e-cigarettes deliver the nicotine directly to the lungs, which immediately puts it in the blood stream to the heart.

Nicotine in the blood goes through the liver and the kidneys. There is no doubt that nicotine has caused kidney cancer. E-cigarettes are delivering nicotine in a concentrated vapor. There is a high temperature conversion of the propellants used to vaporize the nicotine. Propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin are two propellants that are used to vaporize the nicotine. Byproducts from the vaporization of the propellants are sucked directly into the lungs and also passed into the blood stream.

Phillip Morris has purchased a new technology that uses a chemical reaction of nicotine acid with a base to produce nicotine pyruvate in a vapor. British American Tobacco (BAT) is attempting to deliver the nicotine using technology developed for asthma inhalers.

Phillip Morris gave us the Marlboro man. There were four Marlboro men, and all died of tobacco related diseases. BAT provides a higher class of cigarettes with Dunhill and Lucky Strike. Is it better to die from a higher class product? The tobacco companies are playing a new game with e-cigarettes and alternative delivery systems.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists the following effects of nicotine on producing chronic diseases.

You can read more details of the New York Times article, and the CDC discussion of how nicotine and tobacco smoke produces chronic diseases. The CDC has reported a 100% increase in the use of e-cigarettes by middle school and high school students. The CDC has released an article in 2014 based on recent research on the impact of e-cigarettes on health of users.

Do not be deceived into thinking that e-cigarettes are safe. They are safer than conventional cigarettes, but e-cigarettes are a danger due to the concentration of nicotine and the chemical byproducts from high temperature vaporization or the propellants.

E-cigarettes should be banned from sales to minors, and have the same restrictions against advertising as conventional cigarettes. The major cigarette companies are continuing to promote the growth of e-cigarettes and providing misinformation on the safety of e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes should have warning labels listing their dangers.

You can get an insider testimonial for e-cigarettes that cover the major selling points by e-cigarette manufacturers in an article by Bill O’Boyle that was published on May 3, 2014. The article title is A Safer Choice. Consider the other information offered in the above discussions on the risks of e-cigarettes and make your own decision.

There was a song by The Who called Won't Get Fooled Again. Hopefully the public will see through the sales campaigns and avoid e-cigarettes for the health risks that they provide. E-cigarettes have been proven to be a gateway to conventional cigarette smoking in young e-cigarette users, and relatively ineffective overall as a means to smoking cessation.

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Three different areas reflect the experience of the author. Alternative energy control was provided during a 10 year stint with Invensys Foxboro where we controlled everything from Jackson Pike's anaerobic digesters to the sludge incinerators. Spiritualism was an outgrowth of working in many countries around the world, and gaining an interest in non-traditional religions. Spiritualism places personal responsibility on each person to take care of their bodies, mind and spirit. This has led to the challenge of the living healthy area.